“Will you survive the transition of human industrial civilization happening now due to peak oil and climate change? Can you see the forest for the trees, the earth for the dream, the universe for the seed? Anima Mundi is an innovative documentary about the planetary animal called Gaia and the human animal we deny, we deny at our own peril, yet a peril that is perfect in design”.

Many people do not realize that permaculture is much more than about growing fruit and vegetables, it is a whole view incorporating the environment, energy, resources, housing, technology, education, healthcare, the arts, spirituality, psychology, philosophy and agriculture. It provides a realistic alternative for our future sustainability, a gentler way that treads lightly on our Mother Earth. Anima Mundi is not a “How To” video, it is a “Where To” documentary showcasing alternatives like Earthship’s, Permaculture, Permablitz, retrofitting the suburbs, lifeboats, localized food production and currency’s, planned energy decent and Gaian philosophy.

And many people do not realize that Anima Mundi is not a big budget documentary, it was put together by one person with little money, no industry connections, a clapped out car and a home-video camera. As a production, Anima Mundi fits within many permaculture principles; it has a very low embodied energy, it took minimal resources to produce, I made do with what was local and/or at hand, and I grew something that has flourished from what was once a barren landscape. Anima Mundi is not a film that offers false-hope solutions, it is a practical film about the nature of reality, and the harsh and beautiful reality of nature.

Reviews

This is an unbelievably enlightening, refreshing and inspiring look at our immediate world from a Gaian viewpoint. The crises and challenges of our time are seen from the perspective of a living planet, then woven with compellingly clear explanations and insights from a broad, global palette of writers, thinkers and activists who show us that Mother Earth is indeed a living thing and that she will respond when treated as such. When epochal changes occur they need to be examined from a multitude of viewpoints. Peter Charles Downey has given us an indispensable and beautifully crafted work of art that is an essential facet in the shining gemstone of a new human consciousness. For all my years of work in the field I heard, saw and understood issues in ways that were new, fresh and integrating. David Holmgren — as are all those interviewed — is a giant of an emerging consciousness — a prototype of the emerging new species I call Post-Petroleum Human. Anima Mundi lovingly and eloquently does a superb job of presenting our world — and our place in it — in a way that is calming, reassuring, while at the same time allowing us to comprehend and absorb the insanity of the world view held by humankind for thousands of years.

For all the films I have appeared in, Anima Mundi leaves me with a deep personal sense of satisfaction. What the film gave me for the first time was a very clear understanding of where I and my life’s work fit into this emerging consciousness. Finally, I see that I am and have been a warrior for Gaia all along; one of many. Watching this film was a deeply personal and uplifting experience. It is a Must See for all who would help to lead us into a New Paradigm because it so clearly and lovingly shows us the direction we need to go if we are to survive and endure.

Michael C. Ruppert,
Author, Lecturer

It’s brilliant, everyone must see this movie.

Guerrilla Gardening Geelong

This film gives a surprisingly enlightened and inspirational view of the world from a Gaian perspective. You do not need to be a follower of Gaia theory to appreciate the way the film presents the challenges our planet faces from the viewpoint of the planet as a living entity. The cast of scientists, activists and thinkers who speak here come from a variety of backgrounds and ideologies, but all agree that Earth is a living thing and like all living things, will respond to being treated with the care and sensitivity you’d offer another human being.

As well as being interesting and informative, the film is gorgeous to look at, reminding us of how precious the natural environment is. Humanity’s view of the world and its place in it is shown here to be insane, and the film urges mankind to evolve as the natural resources dwindle. It’s not an alarmist film, but offers helpful suggestions as to what direction we must move if we are to survive as a species.

Paramount Cinemas New Zealand

Anima Mundi Gaia may not be your goddess, but Australian filmmaker Peter Charles Downey pulls together the nexus of energy, economics, climate change, population and ecology in a way that will give pause for thought. Drawing on interviewees who are clearly passionate but who deliver in calm, non-proselytizing tones, he adds his own touch with telling archival montage and lively graphics.

New Zealand Listener

In examining the world from a Gaian perspective, Anima Mundi (“the soul of the world”) risks being seen only by the converted, but with oil spills in the news, its timing may win it a few more. This Australian documentary takes time to settle into, with talking heads firing information and a seeming hotchpotch of imagery, and it may need more than one viewing to make its points stick. Nevertheless, it pulls together energy, economics, climate, population and ecology in a way that does start to make sense. Importantly, it goes on to suggest feasible ways of redressing the problems. Even the imagery turns out not to be as random as it first seems.

The bias in the choice of interviewees – they include Noam Chomsky and various spokespeople for environmental causes – is deliberate, because, as one says, “Gaia’s a dirty word in science.” There’s probably too much emphasis on the US as villain in the archival footage – clearly it’s not alone – but overall the tone is calm, not emotive; explanatory, not proselytising. And the soundtrack’s good.

At the end, a speaker acknowledges that getting across this point of view is a big ask, but “if you make a good enough film, who knows?” Indeed. Anima Mundi may not sweep the world as a piece of cinema, but it’s another brick in the wall of awareness.

Helene Wong – New Zealand Listener

Cast Credits

Anima Mundi is an independently produced, homegrown, grassroots documentary made with very low embodied fossil-fuel energy, but with lots of love and synchronicity. This is the first feature documentary by film-maker Peter Charles Downey, born October 30 1970, who only began making films in 2007 with a background as an artist, musician and activist. Funds raised from the sale of Anima Mundi are going towards future United Natures documentary film projects.

The Four Portraits with the director of Anima Mundi, Peter Charles Downey (2nd from left). Photograph by Jon Maree.

CAST

David Holmgren is the co-originator of Permaculture and
author of Permaculture Principles & Pathways
Beyond Sustainability and Future Scenarios.
www.holmgren.com.au

John Seed OAM teaches deep ecology and is the
co-author of Thinking Like a Mountain.
www.johnseed.net

Dr Stephan Harding is an ecologist specializing in the
Gaia theory and is the author of Animate Earth.
www.schumachercollege.org.uk

Noam Chomsky is an author, political activist, linguist and philosopher at MIT.
www.chomsky.info

Michael C Ruppert is a peak oil activist and the author of Confronting Collapse and is featured in the film Collapse.
www.collapsenet.com

Michael Reynolds is an eco-architect featured in the film Garbage Warrior. He is the creator of the earthship concept which are self-sufficient off-the-grid sustainable houses mostly built from recycled material.
www.earthship.com

Dr Christine James is a transpersonal psychotherapist and author of The Cannibalization of Jesus and the Persecution of the Jews.
www.transpersonaljourneys.com